Finding Your Way Home
by swizzle13
Summary: AU. Hermione and Harry meet in high school. She's very shy. He's the first friend she makes. When she receives a letter invating her to go to Hogwarts during summer she thinks it's a joke, because there's no such thing as magic. "You breathe in and everything around you is pure magic, soaking you".
1. Chapter 1

She woke up and just like any other day she got ready for school. But today was no ordinary day, it was Hermione Granger's sixteenth birthday. She made her way to school accompanied by the all so familiar feeling of loneliness with a hint of dread.

She could still remember her first day of school when she was six. The smell of the first rains on the dried earth, the yellow oak leafs falling peacefully from the trees. She was beaming. When she got home from school that day, she couldn't wait to go again and learn all that she could. Gradually, the excitement faded away, not because she got bored with knowledge, but due to how her "friends" treated her.

For a popular girl, today was both a very stressful and happy day. It was the day legendary parties were thrown and everybody would almost bow when they walked through the hallways. Not for Hermione, though. Being at the bottom of the high school social ladder she didn't have friends to party with. She had acquaintances, which never quite reached out to her, so she always felt alone even when she was around them.

Hermione was happy that Biology was her first class on her birthday. She loved books and learning, but when she was around cells and plants she wasn't the nerd, but the "uprising talented scientist". When the teacher mentioned a group work, Hermione's blissfulness was tested. All her life she had only know two types of group workers: the ones that had half her A and didn't do anything and the ones that pretended to try to work. As soon as the teacher said Harry was her partner her feelings were mixed.

Harry Potter was a tall, raven haired boy, who had some classes with Hermione. He always sat at the back and was a very low profile person, with only a few friends. That was all Hermione knew about him. For her, Harry wasn't an ordinary person, but not because she fancied him. To the girl, the world had become a black and white place with nothing to aspire to except going to college and flee the shallow waters of high school. She had learned to live like this and she was contempt with that. However, when she looked at the tall boy, she felt a flicker inside her, a strange kinship with him, like she had known him all her life.

When those blue ocean eyes looked into hers to acknowledge the teacher's pairing for the group work, the world lit up and it felt like she was home.

* * *

You jaw is tight and your shoulders squared. You're bracing yourself, you're creating a shield. For what? You don't know. You feel it hanging in the air while you stride towards your locker. This type of body language was something you picked up long ago, when you started learning kinesics in an attempt to look less like a target to bullies. It worked, because now it's rather unusual when someone makes fun of you in the hallways.

You're class is considered the jock class, because most of the guys are on the football team and the girls might as well be cheerleaders with all their popularity and power. You loathe almost all of them, only Harry and this outcast girl Gabriella pass your test. She could be your friend, but you were too shy to talk to her and now she has made her friendships outside your class, as you did you acquaintances.

You are surprised to see Harry standing by your locker, waiting for you. You mentally prepare yourself for the answering machine message you always repeat to your group work partners.

"Hi". It's all he says to you when you're close enough to hear him.

"Hey to you too". Emotionless. "I presume this is about the group work… Don't worry, I'll do it and you just have to sign it". It's out of your mouth with a sigh.

"No". It's the rushed answer that Harry manages to say. "I mean, please no. I want to work… I want to work with you, if you let me. Text me your address when you're free and I'll drop by". He scribbles his number on a piece of paper and gives it to you. Without waiting for your answer he calmly walks away navigating through the crowd of teenagers eager to go home after a day of school.

You can't believe your ears. Someone actually wants to work with you. For the first time in years you walk home feeling warm, wanted.

* * *

A/N: This is my first fanfiction. I do not own any of this. If you feel like reviewing it or follow it, please be my guest. Hope you enjoyed the reading.


	2. Chapter 2

_You are nowhere and you are everywhere. You're sprawled on your bed, you're sailing the waters of the Caribbean Sea, you're dreaming about magic and how wonderful it would be if you could be like the characters in the fairytales you read. A princess, a prince and his white horse. You laugh at yourself. At sixteen you shouldn't be wondering about you're fairytale, but you are. It helps you get through you're reality._

…

_ It's Saturday morning. Your mother comes to wake you up and she brings an envelope. It has a logo you don't recognize, which doesn't happen very often. She hands it to you and tells you to get ready for breakfast. No remark on the letter, like it didn't even existed. _

_ You examine the logo. It's exquisite. Four compartments with same structure, an animal on a colored background. Left upper corner, a golden lion over scarlet. Right upper corner, a silver snake on green. Under the lion, a badger over yellow. Finally, across the badger and eagle over blue. You open it. Inside, the paper reads "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". You've never heard of it. You read it carefully and it says that you're registered to attend this summer camp, starting a week after you school year has finished and that a teacher will come to take you shopping for supplies and help with any questions you have. You can't believe your eyes. You can't actually see with the tsunami that has formed in your eyes. You've known teasing, but this was just cruel. How could people be so mean to the point of faking a letter from a school? A magic school, by the way. You know that there's no such thing as magic, as much as you want to…_

_ When you get yourself together you put the letter on the nightstand and you get ready for breakfast with your parents. You realize you have your afternoon free, so you decide to text Harry. You tell him to come at 3 o'clock and you type your address, sending it without further thought. Careless and cold. You don't feel like being nice, you just want to get your mind out of what happened and the only way you know how to do it is working. _

…

_ It's almost 3 and you realize Harry hasn't answered your text. You worry that he was joking when he said he wanted to work with you. And mostly, you worry about him and all the possible scenarios that would make someone not answer a text. When you decided to start working without him, the bell rings. Immediately you jump of your chair and you run towards the door. You don't know why you're so happy to see someone you barely know, but you brush it of as soon as you see him and you feel your heart warming, like every time you two are close._

_ You let him in and motion the he should follow you to your bedroom. You pray that he actually knows something about your work and that the afternoon goes by quickly._

* * *

Harry managed a smile when Hermione opened the door. He didn't know why he always felt so awkward and at home simultaneously when he was around the brow haired girl.

As he followed her towards her bedroom, he started to feel a bit nervous. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself around the most intelligent person he'd ever met…

Hermione's room was a normal teenager girl room. Some pictures of her, a desk, a bookcase filled with books and a TV. While he was looking around, something caught his eye. A letter that was carelessly thrown to the nightstand. He couldn't make out the letters because the ink was smeared, like water had fallen on it. However, something about it was familiar to him, even if right now he couldn't point is finger at it.

"Are you ok?". Hermione asked when she saw Harry staring blankly at her nightstand.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, I am. I was just thinking about something, never mind." He offered a smile and she melted. "How about we start working? The work won't be done by itself". A joke to break the ice.

As the afternoon went by, both teenagers eagerly worked together. They were in perfect synchrony. Somewhere between the lines, even if they didn't know something bigger was starting.

By nightfall the work was done and Harry went home. Alone in their bedrooms, Hermione and Harry realized that they'd done the work very quickly and the rest of the time they were just talking and getting to know each other. It felt so good to have so much chemistry with someone. That night, Harry decided that he would make an effort to gain Hermione's friendship. From what he'd observed of her, that wouldn't be easy.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited this story, it's very important to me. I'll try to update regularly. Hope you enjoyed the reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sorry about not updating this earlier,but I had many things to do and I couldn't write anything decent. Let me know what you think about this two ways of narrating. I can stop it if it's boring. Also, if you have any suggestions, please be kind to tell me. Happy reading :)

* * *

_You__ were__ drowning in a waterless world. That's how you feel when you think back on how your days were before befriending Harry._

_Three months have passed since that afternoon doing a group work, but it might as well have been three years with all that changed in your life. Now, you feel happy and warm inside, like you have your own inner fireplace burning. _

_It's the morning of the last day of school before Christmas holidays and you're sitting on the bench in front of your house waiting for Harry, so that you can walk together to school. It has become a habit. However, you were surprised when Harry showed up at your door the Monday after you worked together to walk you to school. _

"_Good morning! I brought you tea." Harry cheerfully greeted."I hope it's ok that I showed up here, but I felt like we clicked the other day working together and I was hoping that we could talk a bit more on our way to school." He rushed the part that hinted about going together to school, which made you nervously grin. You weren't used to having people to walk with you to school, much less a boy._

"_Morning! Is this some sort of bribe?" You asked, hoping that he answered yes. He scratched the back of his head before sheepishly replying. "Kind of… Yes, yes it is. I'm not stalking you or anything, but noticed that you always bring tea with you to Biology class in the morning, so I thought that maybe, if I brought it you would accept walking to school with me. Even if it was just for the free tea… Hey, are you going to leave me standing in your door rambling?" He asked when you rushed to the kitchen to grab your books. _

"_You didn't have to bring me anything, I would've gone with you. I felt the same with you. Actually, I was actually kind of hoping that you wanted to talk to me." You were about to start to ramble about how good you felt when you were around him, but you stopped yourself. It's not like you to overshare, especially with people you barely know. However, Harry was diferent, around him you couldn't keep your guard up._

…

Since the day they walked together to school Hermione and Harry's friendship has grown and they can't pin point exactly when they started being so open with each other. So it strikes the hazel eyed girl as odd when she asks Harry what he's going to do during the holidays and he stutters.

"So, I can't decide what we can during the holidays. Stay home and catch up on TV series or go ice skating to the park… Oh, I'm sorry.. Here I was planning things without even asking you if you're free. It's just that I never had a best friend, so I don't really know what's the normal thing to do…"

"Hermione, please stop rambling and fidgeting. As much as I think that's very cute you have to stop overthinking." Harry smiled that smile he knew she couldn't resist. The flirting was just that, flirting. No second intentions, at least that was what they told themselves when they replayed the conversations in their heads.

"Let me start over. What are you doing during the holidays? Are you free?" The smart girl asked.

"Hum… I don't know… I.. I… I'm going to visit my family in Scotland." He blurted like he was trying to hide something.

The bell rang before Hermione had time to think about what Harry said and he ran off. She was used to him being a bit misterious about his life, his free time especially, but this was new, he never ran from her. She convinced herself that it was just a missunderstanding.

….

Lucius Malfoy, a middle age man sat at his new desk in his new office. It wasn't actually new, it was rather old since it was from the first Minister of Magic. Nevertheless, for him it was new, being elected only three months earlier. He wore an emerald and velvety robe and his hair was so blonde it looked like silver.

The Magic World had just come out of a very dark period and Lucius took it upon himself to make right what the previous Minister had done wrong and terrifying. He didn't like to think about it, but he knew that many people still defended Tom Riddle and his antiquated ideas about purebloods. In order to change this thought, Lucius figured he had to take action as soon as he was Minister. The first order of business was to send letters to all muggle born wizards with 16 years. This way they were old enough to keep the secret and to understand the bloody and tragic past of that world. The Minister was very proud of his cunnig, because he thought that if the new generation of wizards was taught to respect and accept all people it would be a more peaceful world.

In six months Hogwarts would become the first school, in a very long time, to accept muggleborn wizards. To prevent any surprises, Lucius decided to visit the school during Christmas holidays to tell the students and teachers the news. He wanted to tell the students to be suportive of their new colleagues and to ask the teachers to help them make the transition into this wonderful world by going to their houses and going shopping with them to Diagon-Al.

…

At night, Hermione was straightening some pictures when the Hogwarts letter fel to her lap. She thought her mother had threw it away, but now that it was in her hands she decided to try and figure out if it was really a joke.


End file.
